Since I’ve been cross stitching more lately, I have been on line looking at more of it too. Why I do that…I’m not sure. I should just sit and work on what I already have. Anyway, in the fall I was online and ended up seeing the website Zappy Dots.
I ended up seeing something there called a “Needle Nanny”. I saw other cross stitchers talking about them and ended up ordering one….
There are LOTS to choose from. I ended up picking this one. It’s made using a cross stitch design from Lizzie Kate the cross stitch designer I really like.
The Needle Nanny is a decorative super strong magnet. The purpose of it is to hold a needle for small scissors….Here it is holding mine.
The magnet is SUPER strong.
Here’s a picture I hijacked from their website. They make them for quilters too.
See how the magnet is attached to this gals jean jacket. It doesn’t make a hole in clothing AND it holds pins or a scissors so they are close at hand. I adore mine and use it lots. I ended up ordering one for Kelli…and one for a couple others as gifts.
Kelli wants to someday stitch this…
It turns out Zappy Dots had a Needle Nanny of this piece so I ordered one for Kelli.
Well fast forward to a couple weeks ago. I was stitching. This is what I use do hold my charts…this magnetic ruler and the DMC floss magnet.
I used to have a really nice gauge ruler. It had a linen fabric count gauge on it, was magnetic and I used it to hold my charts to the metal….Well somehow it got lost.
That’s when an idea hit me….
What if Zappy Dots made a gauge magnet. It could be long and skinny like the magnets I use to hold my charts. It could have the gauge markings along the edge. They could put the long skinny designs that Lizzie Kate and other designers make in the center. So I’d have a cute decorative magnet that would hold my chart AND I could use it as the seam gauge.  Oh I loved the idea….but alas…they don’t make them.
For about 30 seconds I thought…AH. I could invent something. Then I though NO GIRLFRIEND..YOU HAVE ENOUGH going on in your life.
I went online and looked up some of the designs….Here’s a few examples of the long skinny designs she does.
patriotic….
dog themed…..
Christmas themed….
I did a little more research. Other designers did long narrow designs…here’s one from Bent Creek.
Yah…I thought it would work.
So…I a whim I emailed the company and told them my idea. It was a form email. I didn’t even know if anyone would ever read it. But…they did. The next day I got a very nice email that thanked me for the idea. The person said that my idea was good and the idea was going to be presented at the next meeting.
That made me smile.
Then two days later I got this in the mail with a nice note.
If you can’t read it, the note says, “Hi Jo, Thanks for the great idea about a magnetic stitch gauge. Please enjoy!”
WOW…that is so cool. I’m guessing the company is going to start working on the magnetic stitch gauge with the cross stitch design in the middle. I’m thrilled and super honored that they liked my idea.
Hopefully it’s something they can make. I can guarantee I’ll order one the second they come out.
There were four Needle Nannies in the package. I am gifting one to one of you….are there any cross stitchers out there? If so, leave a comment here on this post and I’ll pick a winner in a couple days.
For you quilters out there….You can find the Needle Nannies with Jo Morton and other great quilty designers designs on them here at Zappy Dots.
They would make a great gift item…..
I cross stitch and quilt and woud love to have one.
I have a needle nanny for my sewing needle that I use when binding or making yo yos. Haven’t heard of Zappy Dots. Will have fun exploring!
I love to cross stitch and am always sticking my needle into the arm of my chair….not such a good idea! A Needle Nana would be very helpful. I am going to check out Zappa Dots, thanks Jo.
I would a needle nanny for my sewing and cross stitch projects. I’ll be checking out Zappy Dots.
Needle Nanny and Zappy Dots……gotta love auto correct……
I love the Needle Nanny. I browsed Zappy Dots website and they have the cutest things. It’s inspiring me to pick up cross stitch again. I made lots of samplers in the ’90s until my husband said he didn’t want A-B-Cs on every wall of the house. (I don’t know why not.) It’s about time for a new one.
I do cross stitch and would love a Needle Nanny for in the car when we travel. Thanks for the opportunity.
Yes, cross-stitch and quilt. What a helpful gadget! Off to check Zappa dots…. thanks for the heads up
I would love to have one! Thanks
I quilt but one of my best friends does the most beautiful cross stitching. I’d love to gift her one!
Love this idea – I have been sewing and stitching for over 60 years – my Mom taught me how to sew the summer I turned 8 – my first project was a pair of pedal pushers (capris). I read your posts every day, Jo. My oldest daughter has several children and one of the most exciting parts at each one’s birth is to pick out a different Bible verse and design for a framed CrossStitch birth announcement to hang.
Definitely will check out Zappy Dots !
Well, I love this story! There are so many nice things that happened here! First off, what a blessing you are to the company – to email them with an idea that you are sharing to help their company! Who does that anymore?? You do! And I just love that! And second, that they took the time to not only read your email, but to thank you with a sweet gift! You asked for nothing! Nice people are still out there, and it just makes me happy to know that. Thanks for sharing your sweet story! Good luck to Zappy Dots, and may you be blessed many times over through your blessing of others.
Wow looks super helpful! Love your idea too, Jo. You’re part of the reason I started stitching again after years! The patterns you purchased and the store you showed looked great. I need the gauge thing so I can figure out all of my older pieces of linen etc! I do not have a needle minder but would love one!
Would love one as I like to cross stitch and love to hand stitch bindings.
Just so you know … If those magnets are like the ones I used for pin dishes, they need to be kept away from pregnant women and people with pacemakers. At least, that was the warning on the ones I bought.
Such neat idea magnets happening and had not heard of them before. I purchased two patterns about a month ago and don’t know why as I have many right here to do. Had eye troubles for the last few months so waiting for them to settle down and get my eyes check so I can either get new glasses or not. Then I may spend the money for good magnifiers for doing small and close up work. I have done several pieces and love doing counted cross stitch. Always enjoy seeing you and your needle work Jo.
Would love to have one for when I do counted cross stitch!
I used to have a magnetic line minder, I love the idea of the magnetic stitch gauge. I would love the opportunity to win a Needle Nanny
I’m getting back into cross stitch and would love to types one! Thanks Jo!
Ghavent cross stitched in a while but love looking at my completed ones.
I cross stitch and quilt. These little dots are a great idea! I checked out the web site, what cute designs. Thanks for the information and a chance to win .
What a wonderful company I will have to look them up.
I love these! Necessity is the mother of invention!
Thanks for sharing about Zappy Dots and for giving us a chance to win one. Your idea that you shared was a great one – I need to get out my cross stitch and finish the one I have at least half done. Use to take it on ski trips to work on while the guys skied. I so enjoy reading your posts every day. :)
This “needle nanny” reminds me of the “Mason Jar needle minders” (Tuesday Jan 8, 2019) on the blog mychellem.blogspot.com. She shows how she made a small needle minder for her sampler work.
Just starting to cross stitch again. It has been fun to see some of the new thing for stitching. Thanks for the give away!
I hit the wrong button and am trying to correct. Please ignore (altho I would still love to win a needle minder!)
I am learning to cross stitch for when we camp this summer, and I would love to win! Thank you!
-Jean
You’re always thinking, Jo! Great idea! I do cross stitch, too, think these are handy little gadgets. Thanks for the heads up. Enjoy!
Hi Jo – I’m left handed and anything for lefties is fun to see. I’ll be checking out the website to see what they have and am interested in the magnets as I am always loosing my needle and the mgnets sound like a great idea to solve that problem. The long skinny designs I especially like and will look to see what they have in the designs. Thanks for letting us know about them. I am sure your guage will be a very popular item too.
A friend of mine does Crosstitch, her work is beautiful and I thought I would love to do that so I bought a bunch of kits and started one and got so frustrated because I kept losing my place. so I’m not sure if this gauge thing would help me but I would certainly like to try it. I love the Zappy dots! they had a contest a while back ago, you could enter your quilt in the contest and if it won they would put your quilt on a Zappy dot. Well mine won. so my quilt is on one of the Zappy dots on the website for a year. when I won they sent me about six of them, so now I have my very own Zappy Dot with my quilt on it, very exciting! They are a very nice company. Definitely would recommend buying some.
I used to do counter cross stitch and would like to get back to doing some of those projects again – a needle minded would be really helpful!!!
I would not be surprised if they sent you a magnetic ruler just for coming up with an idea for them to expand their creations!! How cool would it be if they named it the Jo Ruler!!?? I have a needle nanny that is attached to the handle of my longarm to hold my little scissors. Love them!!
I love your idea, and hope they put it into production! I also hope I win your needle minder- would be great for my cross stitch and quilting projects!
I used to do a lot of cross stitching until quilting took over my life:). Since you’ve been posting about it lately I’ve decided to locate my stuff and have at it! A needle nanny sounds like a necessity to me!
I cross stitch, needle point and quilt. I think quilting is my favorite. Love to have a needle nanny.
I seem to read about more and more people taking up or going back to cross-stitching. I has some small Lizzie Kate Designs from years ago begging to be stitched. Hopefully this will get me back into the needle arts once again too, thanks for the chance to win Jo.
I think your idea for a longer magnetic ruler is great! Thanks for the lead on Zappy Dots and the needle nanny! I’m a quilter and am starting my first hand pieced Kaleidoscope Quilt. I also knit and just picked up a needlepoint kit to keep me occupied while DH is having his treatments.
Such a great idea Jo! I do cross stitch ‘seasonally’. I make little cross stitch ornaments for kids, grands, grand nieces and nephews, and a couple of friends kids….I am up to 22. It is mostly a relaxing craft, unless of course I didn’t start them early enough! It is so nice that you are making a gift on your needle minder, I am always looking for my needle in my chair…
Jo, I hope they use your idea. They can name it The “Kramer Gauge”!!!
I am just getting back into stitching (after I dumped a lot of thread at Good Will — but hey, it was old so probably not that good LOL!). I have been finding LOTS of Lizzie Kate patterns at our Goodwills lately. Nice break from quilting. I just finished a two year project of an embroidered quilt Snowman From A-Z. Two years! My longarmer did a fabulous job on it.
I usually put my needle thru my shirt. I had no idea you could do anything else! LOL
I cross stitch, knit, quilt and sew whatever the grandbabies want :)
I tend to always just tuck my needle into the piece I’m working on…and hope my scissors don’t get too lost while I’m working. Thanks for the recommendation. I. Heading over to check out Zippy Dots right now!
That is so cool, just to receive a response from a company. How kind it was of them to send you some swag! Did I use the term correctly? Swag? :-)
I love counted cross stitch and used to do quite a lot of it in the mid to late 80’s when my kids were little. Watching tv and cross stitching for an hour late night was my little reward to surviving another day with three darling but active wee one under the age of 5. My HH picked up a counted cross stitch kit of an American flag and a Bald Eagle. He’s not tried it before and I am looking forward to showing him a few tricks I picked up. Like having a needle prethreaded in each color to keep the stitching flowing without stopping to rethread a single needle with a different color floss.
I cross stitch although it had been resting. haHa your post brought it to the front again. I’m cross stitching a monopoly board to be framed. Awesome giveaway Jo! Thanks for thinking of all of us still here.
I would love one…so happy they loved your great idea……
What a great idea I would love to have one!
Hi Jo.
It shows that we should have the courage to step out of our comfort zone. You took a chance and now it will benefit many people. Well done!! I’ll be looking out for those longer magnets indeed.
Take care
I’m a quilter & cross stitcher. I enjoy reading your blog. You are amazing!
Hi Jo, I’ve never seen these before! I am a cross-stitcher as well as a quilter and would love to have one. I’m going check out the Zappy Dots site…I have a gift swap coming up and I think it would make a great gift idea, so I’ll definitely buy a few. I sure hope they make the gauge ruler magnet you suggest – what a great idea that is too!
Good idea. Glad the company liked you idea Thanks. Love your blog.
What a great idea!! I’ve used post-it notes stuck on my charts over the years, but this would be so much better.
Cross stitch is such a beautiful art. I have some that I have some that I’ve stitched hanging in my home and a few projects that I hope to sew someday. The needle minders are so handy. I have one for my embroidery work as well. I saw some lovely minders on the Zappy site. I hope they run with your idea. It is a great one!
What a wonderful idea and I’m glad that you had the thought to share it with the company! I do hope that they can put them into production!
I am a cross-stitcher as well and would be delighted to try out a Needle Nanny!
I am going to check out the Web site thanks for the information Jo. I love your idea please let us know if they make the gauge magnet, I would love to buy one. I have been wanting to start a new counted cross stitch sampler and you have inspired me. I love Zappy dots and want to buy more. They work great also holding patterns on vintage TV trays.
That is a great idea! I always use Post-It notes to keep my place on the chart.
I usually don’t enter contests on blogs but I’m excited about the Needle Nanny and your super cool idea for the magnetic gauge!
I cross stitch and have for a long time. I cross stitched and framed pictures for each of my girls when they where born; it also had their weight, date,name etc on them. I recently took it back up last year and made a christmas picture.
I would love to have one. I would always put it on the needle on the end table, now that I have a dog that isn’t such a good idea.
I also quilt and love following your adventures daily Jo.
I would really love to have a Needle Nanny to keep me from losing my needle when I start and stop a project. I enjoy quilting, cross stitch, needlepoint and embroidery work. My hands are always busy making projects for home or for others. I create art each day and am blessed.
This would solve my problem of lost sizzors when cross stitching and binding quilts.
I’ve never heard of a Needle Nanny but i could definitely use one. I am checking out their website. That’s so cool that they liked your idea!
What a great idea! I’m hoping they send you one of the 1st ones made as another Thank You. I sure did a lot of X Stitching on my days but since moving on to Quilting I don’t have the time or eyes to do it. But I taught my daughter how as well as my granddaughter so that tradition is still going strong here.
Jeri
I haven’t done any counted cross stitch for awhile, but enjoy it. Maybe one of my two current projects needs to be a cross stitch sampler instead of a couple of quilts.
I just picked up cross stitch again after many years. Just finished a little ditty of a stack of pastries and cakes and to the left of it are the words, “Lead me not into tempation, I already know the way.” It will go to the church to raise funds. Carol
Jo, love your blog and read it daily. I have been quilting and doing counted cross stitch for 30 plus years. Absolutely love your idea of the cross stitch magnetic gauge. Now why didn’t I think of that. LOL.
I am a cross stitcher. I was cross stitching back in the 80’s when my triplets were born. Cross stitiching was how I kept my sanity. LOL after the babies got older we baby proofed our livingroom using two baby gates. They could play all day and I would be able to watch them and do cross stitching. As they got older I started quilting and left the cross stitiching world for awhile. About 10 yrs ago I started cross stitching again. I mainly buy kits ( I have cross stitched 9 xmas stocking so far). I love reading your blog and get so much inspiration from you. Thanks for wonderful giveaway.
Oh I hope they do make some! I’d order for sure! Keep us posted, I’m sure they’ll let you know!
I enjoy cross stiching. I also quilt and see. Would love to win needle nanny. I tried making one, but my magnets we’re not strong enough. Will keep working on it. Love your posts!
I love to cross stitch and do hand sewing. A needle nanny would be great to have. I lost a needle last week in the couch and have yet to find it, hopefully, it’s stuck somewhere safe! Thanks for the chance to win one! Stay warm this week, it looks like your temps are going to get cold!
Like you Jo I enjoy quilting and cross stitching. I tend to switch and would love a needle nanny!
I’m constantly sticking my needle in my sleeve or in the arm of the couch. Handy, but hardly safe. Could use that needle nanny.
I have tried and started many cross stitch projects. A few i have finished but many i start and then hand off to my sister who is crazy into cross-stitch. So if i were to win i would have to gift it to her because she is an awesome sister to finish my starts.
You brain must never rest Jo! That’s life for those that are creative. I don’t have the eye sight to cross stitch these days but I still hand bind my quilts.
I stitch in hand and don’t need a needle minder for needles, but I like the idea of using one for scissors.